Manipur militant outfit chief released from Guwahati jail after 10-year term

He was sentenced to 10 years in jail after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy and waging war against the State.

Rajkumar Meghen, the 75-year-old founder of Manipur’s banned United National Liberation Front rebel group was released from the Guwahati central jail on Saturday after almost a decade in prison, officials said Saturday.

Manipur rebel leader Rajkumar Meghen (in white shirt) with his lawyer after his release from prison. (Sourced)

“Meghen has been released since he completed the sentence that was awarded to him on conviction,” said Ranjit Baishya, the jail’s superintendent.

The NIA had claimed that Meghen was arrested from Motihari in Bihar in 2010 although there were reports that he was handed over by Bangladeshi authorities after being apprehended in that country.

He was among 18 UNLF operatives convicted by a special NIA court in Guwahati in June 2016.

He was found him guilty under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code, including those dealing with criminal conspiracy and waging war against the State and was awarded a 10-year sentence.

M Gunedhor Singh, Meghen’s lawyer said on Sunday that there are no pending cases against the UNLF founder.

“His conduct has been exceptionally good. He has set up a rock garden and coffee plantations inside the prison premises,” Baishya said.

Meghen is a Meiti, Manipur’s largest ethnic group which is opposed to the Naga peace talks because of the demand of the NSCN (IM) to integrate Naga inhabited areas of neighbouring states into Greater Nagaland.